John francis o brien



(No Model.) 7 I J. F.. O'BRIEN] OVEBQSHOE.

No. 555,592. 5 P5555555 Jan. '2 8,1896.

Fig. 5 E94,

AN DREW EGRIHAM, PHOTOUTHQ WASH l N 0.6

UNITE STATES i P TE T OFFICE.

JOHN FRANOISA'OBRIEN, or LONDON, ENGLAND.

OVERSHOE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 553,592, dated January 28, 1896.

' I I Application filed June 3,1895- ,Serial No. 551,502. (No model.)

To all whom it mag concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN FRANors OBRIEN,

a subject of the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at Morleys Hotel, London, in the county of London, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in and Relating to Overshoes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in and relating to overshoes, and refers particularly to the class of overshoes known as footholds, in which the heel portion of the overshoe is dispensed with,said footholds being provided with a heel-strap or equivalent to retain said foothold on the boot; and the es pecial objects of my invention are, 'fir'st, to prevent the ingress of water at'the shank of the foothold, and, second, to prevent the heelstrap of the foothold sliding down off the rear portion of the bootwhen said foothold is being worn, both of which defects appertain to footholds of the hitherto ordinary construction. The first defect referred to in footholds of the hitherto ordinary make is due to the foothold-shank, which when the foothold is being worn is in contact with the shank of the boot, being caused to move backward and forward on the shank of the boot at each step taken by the person wearing said foothold, by reason of the boot being bent and straightened at each step, the consequence being that in wet weather the water is drawn into the foothold on account of said reciprocating motion of the foothold-shank, as described. The second defect referred to in footholds of the hitherto ordinary make is due to the fact that the fiat surface of the heel-strap is, when the foothold is being worn, in contact with the flat surface of the rear portion of the boot, the frictional contact of said flat surfaces being found insufficient to retain the strap in position after frequent use, and, as the heel-strap becomes loose, more water and mud enter the foothold at the shank. Both these defects I overcome by my invention, as will be hereinafter fully described.

In order that my invention may be readily understood, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, wherein like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several figures, and in which- Figure 1 represents a sectional side elevation of a foothold provided with my improvements. Fig. 2 represents a bottom plan view of the shank portion of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 represents an enlarged sectional view of the shank of a foothold provided with my improved foothold-shank; and Figs. 4 and 5 represent a front view and sectional side elevation, respectively, of a portion of a heelstrap with my heel-strap grip.

In carrying my invention into practice, I provide the shank portion a of a foothold A with apreferably rubber tongue or flap B, one end of which tongue is cemented or otherwise fixed in a suitable manner under the lining a to the sole O of the foothold, or said tongue may form an integral part with said sole 0. The portion 1) of the tongue B is next folded inwardly in a direction toward the sole of the foothold and the portion 12 at the extreme end of said tongue is folded back toward the rear, the whole tongue, when folded as described, approximately representing in sectional shape the letter Z, as shown. The side edges of the portion 1) are cemented or otherwise fixed to about the top edges d of the sides D of the foothold, as shown, and the sides of the portion b are fixed to the sides of the foothold from immediately under the portion 1) to the lower edges of the heel-strap.

It is found when a foothold is being worn that the lower edge of the sides D and the lower edge of the heel-strap E are stretched as the foot is bent at each step, but the top edges of the side D and heel-strap E are not stretched. Consequently no motion will be imparted to the portion b by the sides D of the foothold if it be fixed as described. The shank portion a of the foothold is movedbackward and forward at each step, as above described. Consequently the portion 11 of the tongue which is fixed to said shank is also moved at each step, but such motion is prevented from being communicated to the portion b by reason of the portion Z) of the tongue acting as a hinge, thereby allowing the necessary movement of the shank at awithout communicating such motion to the portion 2).

When my improved foothold is being worn the portion b of the tongue B is in close contact with the shank of the boot, and inasmuch as no motion is imparted to said portion 1),

as above described, no water is drawn into the foothold. The whole of the tongue B may be made of unvarnished rubber, or the upper surface of the portion b may be faced or covered with a strip of unvarnished rubber, so that the contact between said part I) and the shank of the boot will be suificiently close to prevent the ingress of water, and in order to further insure that no water shall enter into the foothold I prefer to curve the outer edge of the portion 1), as shown. For the purpose of further assisting in keeping the portion 1) of the tongue B in contact with the shank of the boot, I preferably make the sole 0 of the foothold of the shape shown in Fig. 2, so that the ends of the heel-strap where they join the sole C pass under the tongue B, as shown, and thereby raise or lift the tongue B against the shank of the boot.

In order to prevent the heel-strap E slipping off the rear portion of the boot when my improved foothold is being worn, I sewor oth erwise attach a piece 6 of preferably unvarnished rubber to the inner side of said l1ee1- strap. Said piece 6 is attached to the heelstrap in such a manner as to be arched, as shown, and said arched piece 6 is attached to the heel-strap at such a position as to be in frictional contact with the rear portion of the boot when the foothold is being worn. By

means of said piece 6, which acts as a grip, the heel-strap is prevented from slipping down off the rear portion of the boot by reason of the lower edge e of my heel-strap grip e being brought into frictional contact with the rear portion of the boot, the arrangement being such that the heel-strap grip e will curl up rather than slip and the frictional contact of the heel-strap with the rear portion of the boot will be further increased.

I wish it to be understood that the joints between the different parts of my improved overshoe may be made by cementing, sewing, or otherwise, according to requirement.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In combination with a foothold a tongue B having a portion 1) folded inward toward the sole and a portion Z) folded outward toward the rear, the edges of the portion 1) being attached to the topedges of the sides D of the foothold, all for the purposes and substantially as set forth.

2. In a foothold the combination of a tongue B having a portion Z) folded inward toward the sole and a portion Z) folded outward toward the rear the edges of the portion 1) being attached to the top edges of, the sides I) of the foothold and a heel strap E formed or pro vidcd with a grip e of unvarnished rubber, all for the purposes and substantially as set forth. 7

I11 witness whereof I have hereunto set in y hand in presence of two witnesses.

PERoY E. MATTocKs, EDMUND S. SNEWIN. 

